RF c02s01
Text Ardent Desire strode back home, feeling lightheaded and gleeful as he swayed almost woozily on his hooves. Evening was setting in, and he felt warm and happy and bright and a lot of other words that he usually didn't apply to himself. The Kelpie had been... fantastic. He had promised to come back again tomorrow... and it wasn't just about the sex. The sex was magnificent, yes. The sex was beyond incredible. But when she had used him up, he had rested his head on her and she had cooed to him and she had held him, and oh, oh, oh, the comfort, the pleasure, and they had talked like they were old friends. And then had more sex, yes. But the talking had been... had warmed his heart. Pleasure. Happiness. He could have both in spades now, with the Kelpie alone... but the Kelpie herself had urged him eagerly to pursue his desires, to indulge, to do... everything he'd ever wanted. And he certainly was not going to deny her advice... especially because she promised to become his guide, in a sense. He already thought of her as... as a friend, even if he didn't even know her name. Ardent Desire strode through the open gates into the courtyard, humming to himself and not thinking about where he was going until he was already through the front doors of the keep. And then he turned and stared when a voice shouted at him with wordless anger, and the orange stallion quailed as Shieldhoof stormed towards him with a flunky on either side, the enormous white stallion snapping: "And after Morning Glory makes us search high and low, here you come, trotting in through the front door looking like a dog that's just robbed the master's table!" The orange stallion began to open his mouth... and a punch from Shieldhoof smashed directly into his jaw, knocking him sprawling in the entrance hall with a howl of agony as Shieldhoof snarled down at him and leaned over the orange unicorn, saying disgustedly: "I do not enjoy taking orders from mares. I do not enjoy that my time here all turned out to be a waste. I do not enjoyed being volunteered by my father to help find an idiot colt because his sister is worried about him. And most of all I hate you, Ardent Desire!" Ardent Desire grimaced as he slowly sat up, only to be punched again and knocked back down with a cry of pain, feeling his muzzle almost break. He turned to try and scramble away, but Shieldhoof jumped on him and slammed his face down into the stone floor, making him cry out again. "You are nothing but an insult to the unicorn race, a slur upon the species, a-" "What are you doing?" snapped Morning Glory's voice, and Ardent Desire looked stupidly up to see his big sister striding towards them, snarling. He instinctively curled up a bit, wincing as she stopped in front of him and rose a hoof... and then he stared when she slammed it not into his face, but savagely struck Shieldhoof instead, knocking him staggering with a cry of pain. "You stupid whore!" Shieldhoof shouted, looking up... and Morning Glory's eyes widened as the unicorns on either side of Shieldhoof immediately quailed, before the enormous white stallion realized what he'd said and hurriedly retracted: "Wait, wait, no, I-" There was a blinding flash of light, making Ardent Desire wince as Morning Glory leapt over him, followed by screams and thuds... and when the orange stallion hesitantly looked up and over his shoulder, he stared at the sight of two unnamed unicorns laying against either wall in unconscious heaps, and Morning Glory slowly pressing a hoof down into Shieldhoof's throat. His skull was cracked and his eyes were rolling in his head, blood dripping from one ear as he shivered on the ground, and the mare leaned slowly down as she whispered: "Do not ever let me see you again. The next time I catch sight of you, worm, I will kill you. And I will ensure that the last thing you see is my hoof before I crush the life out of you like the bug that you are." With that, Morning Glory straightened and then slapped Shieldhoof across the face, knocking him half-rolling onto his side with a broken whimper. Then the mare sniffed disdainfully before glaring over her shoulder at Ardent Desire, snapping: "Get up! Why weren't you at dinner?" "I... I... forgot." Ardent Desire said lamely, and he looked nervously over his sibling as he carefully climbed to his hooves and she approached him. Once more, her eyes seemed strange as they locked on him, and he swallowed thickly before asking awkwardly: "Is there anything... I mean, Morning Glory, are... are you feeling okay?" "Of... of course I am." Morning Glory looked at him for a few moments, then she sighed tiredly and gestured at him irritably. "Let's get you cleaned up, Ardent." Ardent Desire smiled lamely, then he turned around, deciding it was better not to question his sibling as Morning Glory followed closely behind him. She half-guided him to her own quarters, he was surprised to see, and he sat awkwardly down on a cushion as she fetched a wet cloth. She guided his face back and forth as she cleaned it off, and his eyes lingered over her room: it was almost barren, apart from the large bed he was sitting back against, and chest resting against the wall opposite. On top of the latter there were a few medical supplies laid out, and a bucket of clean water... and Ardent Desire couldn't help but laugh a bit before he asked finally: "You... expected me to come back hurt, didn't you?" "You always get beaten up. Even when we were kids... you were always the one getting beaten up. And while Mother was alive, I was the one protecting you." Morning Glory murmured quietly, and Ardent Desire looked at her sharply, but she only forcefully turned his head back away to scrub at a cheek... except he thought he saw a flicker of shame in her eyes. There was silence between them for a few long moments, and then, before he could stop himself, Ardent Desire murmured: "When Mom was alive... everything was different." "Yes, it was." Morning Glory almost whispered, and she sighed softly before she finally flung the cloth across the room with telekinesis, moodily watching it hit the wall and crumple to the ground. Ardent Desire followed it as well, and then he felt her hoof against his face, stroking his cheek and then brushing back his mane, felt her eyes on him, and she leaned forwards, lips parting- Ardent Desire yanked his head back at the last moment, shoving at her, and Morning Glory grunted as she fell backwards and he breathed hard, looking at her with something like horror. "What are you doing?" "I... I don't know!" Morning Glory shouted angrily back, and then she kicked him hard in the stomach with a rear hoof, knocking the wind out of him and sending him falling on his side with a whimper before the mare winced and grabbed at her face, then cursed and shivered violently. "I... I'm sorry, Ardent... no, why am I apologizing to you? What have... I... this..." Morning Glory cursed again, then she leaned forwards and grabbed him, rolling him onto his back and pinning him as he yelped. He stared up at her disbelievingly, and she stared back, trembling hard. "Look at you, weak, pathetic, stupid, nothing like Father ever wanted, and yet my own blood and brother so why... why do I... why do I... oh... oh Ardent..." She breathed harder, beginning to lean down, and Ardent struggled wildly before he managed to yank himself out from under her and bolt for the door. She shouted angrily after him, but the stallion simply kept running, keeping his eyes forwards as he shot through the castle towards his room, the only safe place he could think of. He bolted inside and slammed the door shut behind himself, then squealed in terror as a voice asked calmly: "Having fun?" "Cupidus!" Ardent Desire wheezed for breath, staring as the masked, cloaked demon calmly rolled up a pile of bits in a piece of paper. "Oh god, my... my... my s-sister... how could you-" "I gave you the ability to compel and control all those of the opposite gender. They respond based upon your commands and desires, that's all." Cupidus replied calmly, and Ardent Desire stared as the demon twisted the end of the roll closed and put it on top of an enormous stack of identical paper cylinders piled into a rectangle beside the trunk. "Is... that... my money?" Ardent Desire asked lamely, and Cupidus nodded calmly, the orange stallion giving a dumb giggle for a moment before he clenched his eyes shut and shook his head hurriedly, forcing himself to get back on topic as he said hurriedly: "Well, I can't... she's my sister! My scary little sister who-" "Who is a mare like any other mare. Clearly you desire her, otherwise she would not be attracted to you... but if you do not wish for her to initiate such contact with you, then give her a clear order. Females that are drawn to you are also compelled to obey you... the stronger their draw, the harder it is for them to disobey an order. Harder still when the female-in-question actually cares for you, whether it is on a platonic or sexual level." Cupidus explained rationally, as if they were talking about the best way to walk to the village, not how Ardent Desire could now apparently twist mares to his will. The orange stallion's mouth worked stupidly, and then Cupidus glanced at the pile of coins remaining on the trunk before he shrugged a little and turned towards Ardent Desire. "Still confused? Disgusted, but also aroused and excited at the possibilities? All understandable reactions in a mortal like yourself. But the formula is simple and based on principles I can almost call mathematical: the more you desire a subject, and the more this subject cares for you, the stronger your power over it. If you show more care and desire for this subject, it will respond positively, and your power over it will grow... over her, I should say, as you specifically desired control and pleasure with females. If you respond negatively to the female subject, your control and power over her will weaken. Understood?" "Sort of. But... but if I... I mean, if I tell Morning Glory what's going on, she'll kill me. Probably literally." Ardent Desire said weakly, and Cupidus only shrugged again. "She's my sister! Can't you just-" "This was a freely given gift, not a precise and commissioned wish. You should be as grateful for the drawbacks as you are for the successes. Besides, I have already explained it to you: she will listen to your commands to a point. Keep your love with her platonic if that is what you wish, giving her praise and spending time with her will still increase your power over her until she is so loyal she will do whatever you please." "That's not what I wanted! That's..." Ardent Desire started, and then he yelped when there was a banging on the door behind him, looking hurriedly over his shoulder before he hissed: "Cupidus, help me!" But when he looked forwards, the demon was gone... and Ardent Desire clenched his eyes shut before he took a slow breath, then stepped forwards and turned around, yanking the door open. Morning Glory was on the other side, breathing hard, glaring at him... and she had tears in her eyes. Tears, for the first time he had ever seen, and it made the orange stallion's breath catch in his throat as she whispered: "What the hell did you do to me..." "I... Morning Glory... you're my sister. I..." Ardent Desire trembled, and then he pleaded: "Can't we be like old times? Like when we were kids! You... you took care of me... and I tried my best to be a good brother to you..." Morning Glory stared at him for a few moments, and then she shivered a bit as her eyes seemed to pulse faintly... before silently, she nodded, and the orange stallion relaxed little-by-little, sighing in relief. There was silence between them, and then the mare stepped forwards and hugged him, and Ardent Desire smiled faintly as he hugged her tightly back. It was just... affection now, that he hadn't shared with his siblings since before his mother had died, and... and there was nothing wrong with this. After all, he hadn't ordered her to do anything, really... he had just... asked her to be his sister. There was nothing wrong with that, right? When Morning Glory drew back, she was smiling down at him, and then she leaned forwards and kissed his forehead. For a moment it made him nervous, but then the mare chuckled quietly and reached up to brush his mane out of his eyes, murmuring: "Look at you, you ran away as scared as when I told you there were trolls in the closet, remember that?" "Yeah, I do. And... then you stayed with me the whole night afterwards. It's... it's funny, when I think about it. We used to be really close, and Dad used to... disapprove of how often you took up a stallion's roles. But after Mom died..." Ardent Desire looked down quietly, then he closed his eyes. "Everything changed. I wish..." He didn't speak it, but Morning Glory seemed to hear it all the same, nodding slowly herself as she silently, lovingly stroked the back of his neck, then pulled him closer against her body. And Ardent Desire settled against her as she looked down at him, soothing softly: "I know you've never gotten over losing her, Ardent Desire. But I'm here for you now. I can never replace Mother, but... I don't know. I feel strange... I feel like I should be... taking care of you... like we should be the family we were meant to be. Father used to cherish you, in the old days..." "Before Mom died..." the orange stallion settled against her, hugging her tightly, and Morning Glory nodded quietly. And then there was only silence as Ardent Desire clung to his younger sister for the warmth and comfort that he'd always longed for and craved, trying to piece together everything he'd always imagined that a family should be in those passing minutes of warmth and affection. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story